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Reports of exploding batteries that are causing fires in some Samsung Galaxy Note7 flagship smartphones in Korea have apparently caused the company to halt shipments of the devices there while the alleged problem is investigated.
An official with a Korean telecom told the Korean Yonhap News Agency that Samsung took the action to halt shipments of the devices to telecoms in the country, according to an Aug. 31 story by The Korean Herald.
“Samsung has stopped supplying the phones even though preorders have not yet been shipped,” the telecom official told the news service. “It is unclear whether the suspension is because of production constraints or a probe into the recent explosions.”
Since the Note7 phablet launched in Korea on Aug. 19, “there have been several reports in Korea and overseas claiming that the phone exploded while charging,” The Korean Herald reported. No injuries from the alleged battery explosions have been disclosed, the story continued.
Samsung told eWEEK in an email response to an inquiry that it is looking into the reports it has received and is “conducting a thorough inspection” of the phones and batteries. “We will share the findings as soon as possible,” the company said in its statement. “Samsung is fully committed to providing the highest quality products to our consumers.”
It is not known if there have been any incidents of battery explosions or fires in Note7 handsets in other countries, including the United States.
A Sept. 1 Reuters report said Samsung suffered a $7 billion drop in its market value after the reports of exploding Note7 phones were announced. The story said that Samsung officials confirmed that Note7 “shipments had been delayed for quality control testing, and that shipments to South Korea’s top three mobile carriers had been halted.”
The reports of the alleged Note7 battery fires come at a precarious time for Samsung, which in July reported its highest operating profit in two years in the second quarter of 2016, posting a $7.19 billion profit (8.14 trillion Korean Won, KRW), according to an earlier eWEEK story. That was an 18 percent increase from the 6.9 trillion KRW posted a year ago.
That was the highest quarterly operating profit posted by the company since it brought in 8.49 trillion KRW in the first quarter of 2014 and brought some good news to the world’s largest smartphone maker, which had been struggling with some tough earnings reports over the last several years as it battled successful global sales challenges from rival smartphone makers including Apple and Chinese upstarts such as Huawei.
Samsung’s Q2 revenue reached $45 billion (50.94 trillion KRW), up from the 48.54 trillion KRW posted in the same quarter a year ago, the story reported. Revenue in the mobile division, which includes smartphones, rose to 26.56 trillion KRW from 26.06 trillion KRW a year ago. In the company’s mobile division, operating profit rose to $3.82 billion (4.32 trillion KRW), which was up 57 percent from the 2.76 trillion KRW brought in the same quarter in 2015.
The latest Note7 phablet, which hit the market on Aug. 19 in the U.S., is slimmer and more rounded compared with the previous version, the Note5, which debuted in August 2015. The latest device takes many of its features from the company’s latest S7 and S7 Edge smartphones, which were released in March.
Highlighting the Note7 is a 5.7-inch quad HD dual-edge Super AMOLED touch-screen display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 octa-core 64-bit processor, 4GB of LPDDR4 memory, 64GB of onboard storage and a microSD slot for additional storage via memory cards up to 256GB. The phone runs on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system and includes all-new iris scanning capabilities, a much-improved integrated S Pen stylus, and a first-ever “Secure Folder” feature for important documents and content.
In July, Samsung was faced with claims that a small number of Galaxy S7 Active rugged smartphones leaked when submerged in water, which eventually caused the company to make a correction on its assembly lines to fix the problem, according to an earlier eWEEK story. The company confirmed and corrected the issue after the leakage was reported by consumer product testing organization Consumer Reports after it tested two Galaxy S7 Active handsets and both failed water-submersion tests.


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A recently-granted Apple patent seems to lay out some of Cupertino’s thinking about the future of Siri and the Internet of Things: and it’s spooky. The patent suggests plan to put sensors in every room of the house.
Sony Corp., which popularized portable music players with the Walkman, is seeking a U.S. patent for “SmartWig” hairpieces that could help navigate roads, check blood pressure or flip through slides in a presentation.
EU inventors will soon be able to get a unitary patent at last
Apple patents stuff all the time. Occasionally they give us a clue as to what may be in the iFirm’s future.

domain: news


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Nevada marijuana dispensary owners say California selling recreational pot shouldn’t affect business, but it could help clean up our streets.
NuLeaf in Incline Village, Nevada, will become the first business in the Lake Tahoe area to sell recreational marijuana.
Subscribe to KCRA on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/1kjRAAn
The Nevada Tax Commission has approved emergency regulations on recreational pot distribution.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has endorsed a “statement of emergency” for recreational marijuana regulations because dispensaries are running out of weed.
Learn more about this story at www.newsy.com/70521/
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Dispensarios en Nevada ya se preparan para lo que dicen sera un día historico ya que a media noche la marihuana recreacional ya sera legal.
Hours away from the start of legal recreational marijuana sales in Nevada, some are already raising questions about the laws of supply and demand. They are wondering what, if anything, will be done to prevent price gouging at dispensaries.
Las Vegas may be known as Sin City, but you won’t find this newly legalized sin on the Strip: recreational marijuana. CNNMoney explains why.


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Friday afternoon tours at NOLA Brewing resumed on November 30th after a three month hiatus due to damage inflicted by Hurricane Isaac. The brewery has taken advantage of the break to build out an impressive new tap room and merchandise area. For long-time NOLA fans, the line of taps next to the cold room is still in operation.
Earlier this year, the brewery expanded into the building next door. This new space contains the tap room, with the rest being used for bags of grain and pallets of cans and kegs, waiting to be filled and distributed to thirsty NOLA fans.
A gleaming set of new stainless steel fermenters tower over the main brewing area, where NOLA President, Kirk Coco, gave a spirited tour. He alluded to a secret new beer that is currently in development and also mentioned that the can design for their next beer to be available in that format is being finalized. More information on this will be coming very soon!
Ahead of the official launch on Thursday, December 6th, their winter seasonal, Irish Channel Stout, was available in the tap room. I sampled a glass and can confirm that it is as delicious as ever, whether served straight or mixed half and half with Hopitoulas IPA.
If you have never been on a tour of the NOLA brewery, or if you haven’t been for a while, it is well worth a trip to check out their new digs.


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb got a boost Monday after the stock was upgraded by an analyst at PaineWebber.
Shares of the New York-based drug and consumer products maker BMY, +1.26% rose 13/16 to 65 5/8.
Analyst Jeffrey Chaffkin upgraded the stock to "attractive" from "neutral" and set a 12-month price target of $75. The change was prompted by an upbeat meeting recently with the company's management, a positive earnings outlook, the stock's "attractive" valuation and the likelihood of some kind of "corporate action," such as a merger, acquisition ordivestiture, in the next 12 months, Chaffkin wrote in a note to clients.
Profit picture, pipeline
Chaffkin said Bristol-Myers' stock is inexpensive relative to its peers in the pharmaceuticals industry, trading at a 15 percent discount to them.
The analyst also said the profit picture looks positive for the company in the near term.
Chaffkin said he sees Bristol-Myers' first-quarter earnings rising by at least 13 percent to 51 cents a share.
The company's cancer drug Taxol, diabetes drug Glucophage and cardiovascular drug Plavix "continue to make impressive gains in revenue growth and market share," Chaffkin said. He also said he expects the approval and possible launch of a new cancer drug called Orzel by the end of 1999, as well as the approval and launch of a new antibiotic named Tequin by year-end.
Only Pravachol, its cholesterol-lowering drug, which continues to lose market share to Warner-Lambert's wla Lipitor, has shown disappointing growth, Chaffkin said.
Finally, Chaffkin said he believes the stage has been set for "significant restructuring."
"With four of the five key businesses showing sluggish/disappointing levels of growth, we believe that management is identifying the possible means to divest or spin off some of the underperforming entities," Chaffkin said.
The analyst said he doesn't see a successor to current CEO Charles Heimbold -- who is expected to retire within the next 12 to 18 months -- on Bristol-Myers' existing management team.
"This clearly raises the possibility that the board would consider a merger of equals to deepen the senior-management ranks," Chaffkin said.
Bristol-Myers' brands include Clairol and Excedrin, but more than half the company's sales come from pharmaceuticals, according to Hoover's Online.


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BMW has dropped various signs over the earlier year about another mechanical lead code-named the iNext.
Due in 2021, the vehicle will be controlled by batteries, feature a self-driving system adequately solid to allow you to rest in the driver’s seat occasionally, and be worked at BMW’s standard plant in Dingolfing, Germany.
Conversing with Auto Express, a senior authority from BMW’s I sub-stamp, Alexander Kotouc, has revealed that a thought seeing the arrangement and a segment of the development will be revealed for the present year. Kotouc in like manner revealed that the iNext will be for the most part an unclear shape and size from a X5, toward the day’s end a medium size SUV.
“I can promise you that this year you will see something and touch something,” Kotouc told the British magazine in a present gathering. “It’s pivotal; the iNext will be a more prominent measure of the shape and size of a X5.”
Kotouc incorporated that the vehicle will have the ability to arrange five and will have an altogether unforeseen inside arrangement to what we’re used to. He furthermore said the last blueprint is close being shut down. BMW’s Vision Next 100 thought from 2016 is thought to audit a bit of the iNext’s diagram points.
The iNext will be one of 12 electric cars that the BMW Group will dispatch before the complete of 2025. The first of these will be an electric Mini Hardtop due in 2019. It will be trailed by an iX3 in 2020, and after that the iNext in 2021.


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angry tapir writes: "Advanced Micro Devices has announced that Dirk Meyer has resigned from the post of CEO, and that the company is beginning to search for a new chief executive. Meyer resigned in a mutual agreement with the board of directors, and the company has appointed Thomas Seifert, the company's chief financial officer, as the interim CEO. Meyer was installed as CEO in 2008 as a replacement to Hector Ruiz, just as the company was making its way out of rough financial times. In October, AMD posted a third-quarter net loss of US$118 million."
He's like a function -- he returns a value, in the form of his opinion.
It's up to you to cast it into a void or not.
-- Phil Lapsley


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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It’s a job-seekers market in the food service industry right now, say borough restaurant owners. And from kitchen to front-of-the-house workers, Applebee’s of Staten Island is on the look-out for new staff.
A weekly career fair will be held on Wednesdays for the next two weeks at the Expressway Plaza location — 1451 Richmond Ave., Bulls Head — from noon until 6 p.m. No appointment is necessary, a resume is recommended and applicants must be at least 18 years old. Candidates should ask for Jeff Glickman.
A spokeswoman for Apple-Metro Foods said, “This is a perfect opportunity for someone new to the industry with a resume that might not reflect the personality they can bring to the job.”
There are three Applebee’s on Staten Island and the Bulls Head-based job fair intends to gather staff for each location. Other operations are located at 2720 Veteran’s Rd. West., Charleston; 718-943-1200 and at the Staten Island Mall; 718-370-3529. The New Dorp Applebee’s closed after 25 years.
Pre-pandemic, Apple-Metro CEO and franchisee Zane Tankel said the company employed 2,000-plus employees and 31 restaurants. Those numbers have dwindled and four stores in the region have closed permanently but the company spokeswoman said an announcement will soon come for a new East Shore location.
Tankel prophesied earlier in the pandemic that things would get better with the economy. He told the Advance in April, 2020, “There’s no place to run. There’s no place to hide. It is what it is. And we’re going to navigate through this. Is it easy? No. It’s not easy when you’re getting through it. We’re setting history.”
He added, “We’re all in this together. Instead of being scared be prudent. It’ll be a distant memory in about a year.”
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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MTM On The Road: Getting Reindeer Ready for Christmas at Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm
You know Dasher, Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen…But do you recall ever meeting them all?! Well, now you can at the Rooftop Landing Reindeer Farm in Clare. This weekend is their last open weekend for the season where you can meet Santa before he makes the trip around the world to deliver presents to all of the boys and girls. Also, you get to meet Santa’s furry friends! Wake up with Regan Blissett and photojournalist Stephanie Adkins to see how the reindeers are getting ready to pull the sleigh for the big holiday that is less than a week away! This weekend the farm is open Saturday from 10 a.m. Until 6 p.m. And from 11 a.m. Until 5 p.m. And the farm can even bring reindeers to you for special events.


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1 Jan 2020
Plant based, clean label, ‘less and more’, and ‘power ingredients’ such as grains, seeds, cocoa and vegetable and fruit fillings, are the top healthy food trends for 2020, as predicted by global baking, patisserie and chocolate ingredients business Puratos.
The predictions follow the recent launch of Puratos’ global Taste Tomorrow* trend report; the world’s largest bakery, patisserie and chocolate consumer survey. The report unveils in-depth insights into global and local consumer behaviours, attitudes and choices. Its findings confirm that living a healthy lifestyle is more important to consumers than ever before and predicts the specific trends set to grow in the year ahead.
Veganism is one trend that is set to continue to build in 2020 and is now considered beyond a trend by many. Our Taste Tomorrow research reveals that vegan food is increasingly seen as good for the environment and health, with 20% of people buying vegan/vegetarian food on a weekly basis and 24% expecting to buy more in the future. 38% believe vegan food has a positive impact on the environment and 69% see plant-based products as a solution to prevent or solve food shortages.
These results highlight the strength of the trend and the importance of the environmental benefit of this lifestyle choice to the consumer. It is therefore in brands’ best interests to share how they are supporting the environment and maintain a strong dialogue with an audience that can only grow.
Puratos UK continually innovates to add new solutions to its suitable for vegan range, which deliver on taste, health and freshness and just this month launched new additions to its existing range of over 250 products, with the new Vegan Granola Bake Mix and Satin Vegan Plain Complete Cake Mix.
Less and More
For consumers, healthy food is about both ‘less’ and ‘more’, with 70% of consumers saying health is about removing ingredients and 61% saying it is about adding them.
With sugar and salt key focuses for the NHS, media and actions groups, Puratos expects customer interest in both to grow further in 2020. Brands and business should ensure they work to reduce salt and sugar where possible and appropriate.
Fibre is one nutrient which looks set to grow in favour in 2020. With the most recent UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) revealing that most adults need to increase their intake, brands and business can look to incorporate higher fibre ingredients into formulations and highlight ‘source of’ or ‘high fibre’ claims on pack, in order to tap into this trend.
Puratos continues to innovate to develop technical solutions which allow customers to reduce sugar and salt, without compromising on flavour and texture, and add fibre to goods. The Puratos Sapore sourdough range, for example, offers a variety of products that deliver great quality, whilst simultaneously reducing salt and the Puratos Sproutgrain range includes ready-to-use, sprouted and fermented whole grains and seeds which can be used to add taste, texture and fibre. The Satin Savoury Cake Mix can be used to create a range of delicious savoury patisserie but is also naturally sugar free.
The trend for transparency, focus on health and greater interest in what goes into food has led to consumers checking labels more than ever before. 86% of people said they did this in 2019; an increase since the previous Taste Tomorrow** report in 2015. Puratos UK predicts this to grow further in 2020 and demand for clean label formulations to increase as a result.
36% of people currently check labels for details on preservatives and the same number look for details on the source of a product, whilst 33% search for information on artificial colourings and flavourings. With this in mind, brands and business should highlight any claims connected to these concerns on pack, in store and on social media and look to re-formulate where possible and appropriate. At Puratos, clean label is a focus across all products. For example, Puratos UK has the capability to make preservative free fillings for a wide range of products, across baked goods and desserts.
Grains and Seeds
The Taste Tomorrow report polled consumers on how tasty and healthy they thought certain ingredients were and whether they thought these ingredients were present in bread, chocolate, and pastry and patisserie. Grains and seeds scored highly for both health and taste, but not all consumers were aware that these could be present in bread, with just 54% saying they thought grains and seeds could be incorporated. This presents an opportunity to educate a relatively high percentage of consumers on the fact these ingredients can be present in bread and their health and taste benefits.
Puratos offers a variety of grain and seed solutions, such as the Sproutgrain range, which includes ready-to-use, sprouted and fermented whole grains and seeds which can be used to add taste, texture and fibre.
Vegetable and Fruit Fillings
Vegetable and fruit fillings look set to grow as ‘patisserie power ingredients’ in 2020. As well as increasing the health credentials of finished goods, these fillings also offer taste benefits and both are of course associated with ‘naturalness’. Promoting any claims around health, naturalness or provenance, associated with fillings is likely to prove beneficial in 2020. Puratos UK’s preservative free filling capability means it is possible to deliver naturally great tasting and looking fillings, that have high fruit integrity and are clean label.
Cocoa also looks set to become a ‘patisserie power ingredient’. Awareness of the benefits of cocoa is increasing, with 9 out of 10 consumers now saying they think cocoa offers both health and flavour benefits, compared to 8 out of 10 in 2015. The % of cocoa in chocolate is important to consumers, with this being the fourth most important buying consideration for chocolate, ahead of even health and freshness, so bakers and manufacturers would do well to promote this.
Puratos has been producing real Belgian chocolate, Belcolade, at its factory in Erembodegem, Belgium for over 30 years. Careful selection of the best quality cocoa beans from across the globe and use of the traditional Belgian process of mixing, grinding, conching and tempering, perfected over decades of experience, combine to result in a Belgian chocolate with unrivalled taste and quality.
“Trust, the environment, veganism and taste, underpin the healthy food trends of 2020. Brands and businesses which can demonstrate transparency and credible environmental initiatives, as well as offering high quality products, will be those to benefit. With health only set to rise higher on the agenda, businesses should look to promote ‘power ingredients’, source responsibly and re-formulate to maximise chances of success in the 12 months ahead and beyond”. Jo Greengrass, Sales Director, Puratos UK


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Beepi expands to Phoenix – interview with CEO Alejandro Resnik
Buying or selling a used car is about as enjoyable as getting a tooth pulled. The process is such a hassle and can be so discouraging that many decide to just keep fixing their current vehicle. But it might be time to look again and find your next ride.
San-Francisco-based Beepi, a leading peer-to-peer marketplace that allows customers to seamlessly buy and sell their car from the comfort of their home, chose Phoenix as their first expansion city outside of California.
CEO Beepi Alejandro Resnik, set out to drastically change the way people buy and sell cars after his transaction with a car dealer went sour.
“I was a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and my wife and I decided to buy a car so we could explore Massachusetts. As a student I didn’t have a lot of cash. We went to a dealership, and I got a Jeep Liberty, and two and a half days later the car caught on fire. I called the dealership and they didn’t acknowledge anything,” Resnik said.
The couple ended up suing the dealership and in the process “I learned about lemon laws and how unprotected consumers are when they have to buy a car. I thought, ‘there has to be a better way,’” Resnik said.
From that point Resnik wanted to build a company where customers can purchase and sell a vehicle with confidence and trust, get a money back guarantee and receive a fair price.
People give up on selling and purchasing a car because it’s such a headache, Resnik said. “When you make something really difficult, then people hold onto the assets longer than they should.”
Every car in their inventory is Beepi Certified which includes a 185 point inspection by professionally-trained mechanics (referred to as inspectors), and includes an AutoCheck car history report.
“Our inspectors are not random, not contractors, they are Beepi employees, certified and stockholders of the company,” Resnik said.
With used car transactions, it’s typically considered a final sale and bye bye. With Beepi, the buyer is given 10 days to test out their purchase (with a mileage limit); if they don’t like the car, they can return it for a full refund. There is no test driving of the car prior to purchase.
While Beepi is a licensed dealer in each state they operate, they don’t have overhead of a brick and mortal shop and can pass along the savings to the customers. Beepi makes their money on the spread between the buyer and seller price with no more than a nine percent cap.
If you are looking to sell that old Tahoe with 100,000 miles, this isn’t the platform. Beepi doesn’t sell cars older than six years or over 60,000 miles.
“We carefully select the best cars on the market and most of them don’t make it [to Beepi],” Resnik said.
Ready to sell or buy?
Once a seller lists the car on Beepi.com, they will receive a guaranteed price, which is at least $1,000 more than any offer you’ll get on the market, Resnik said. The price is calculated using Edmonds.com, other auto sources and their patent pending algorithm. The seller will schedule an inspection and upon approval, the car will be available for sale. The company guarantees that the car will be sold in 30 days or less or they will buy the car, Resnik said.
“It’s a better price than any other price that you’ll get. The seller has to do nothing, they get the guaranteed price and can relax,” Resnik said.
The buyer experience is just as simple. Once a car is purchased, in five days the vehicle will be delivered to the doorstep by an inspector, completely detailed, and with a big bow on it, said Resnik.
For both parties, Beepi will take care of all the paperwork and there are no nickel and dime negotiations, the price is the price.
“We do it instead of wasting your time with negotiations. We give you the best price up front,” Resnik states.
Beepi customers can buy cars on the platform from over 200 cities across the country. For buyers located in California and Arizona, the delivery is free. The cost for other states varies depending on location.
Expanding to Phoenix
Resnik said Phoenix was the first city outside of California and location was purely based on the demand from the customers.
“Thousands of people were writing to us to please come to Arizona. We deliver a lot of cars to Arizona; now Phoenix can take advantage of the free shipping, it doesn’t matter where the car is located,” Resnik said.
Since Beepi launched in April 2014, Resnik stated the company has realized a 56 percent per month growth over the previous month, and in Q1 hit $50 million in revenue with a projection of $100 million before the end of 2015.
In addition, Beepi has raised $79 million, the most recent being a $60 million Series B led by Foundation Capital and SherpaVentures who joined existing investors.
Resnik stated the raise “will be used for national expansion, with Phoenix as the first stop, and now we will be opening in a major city every month.”
Resnik couldn’t comment on how many jobs will be coming to Arizona, but did say that all inspectors will be locally sourced.
Next steps for Beepi include buying and selling cars through a mobile device and continuing to improve the customer experience.
“We are incredibly excited. [The expansion] marks a milestone for the life of the company and [Arizona] is a fantastic state; [there are] 3.2 million people in Phoenix that have been freed of the used car industry. I’m very happy for it,” Resnik stated.
Photos and graphics courtesy of Beepi.com


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An artist’s impression of the planned business process outsourcing unit
Chief Executive Officer of development company Cascade Group Jamaica, Fredrik Moe, reckons that Jamaica could see an additional 10,000 jobs becoming available over the next five years from the construction of a commercial park – Kingston 876.
It’s the latest development of its kind in the country, covering roughly 94 acres at the corner of Tom Cringle Drive and Mandela Highway in Ferry, with planned investment of $30 billion.
Construction is now under way for Nestle Jamaica’s new distribution plant. Expectations are that the new development will host a mix of information and communications technology (ICT), manufacturing, industrial, logistics and heavy retail companies.
Already, Moe is in advanced discussions with a business process outsourcing centre, covering 100,000 square feet, which could bring the first 2000 jobs by 2019.
On completion, the property should be home to roughly seven companies.
“People are very excited, we have a lot of interest and we are in active discussions. Some have made concrete commitments verbally, the call centre is significantly advanced, but the heavy retail is also significantly advanced. Once we finalise the bulk of these discussions, we will be finalising our subdivision application. So now we are finessing the master plan and determining the needs of some of these companies,” Moe told the Jamaica Observer in a round-table interview last Friday.
Construction of the facility will be carried out by the Cascade Group and will be sold to the operators. The CEO is also in talks with the Government for Kingston 876 to be registered under the Caymanas Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
“We are certainly going to be pushing for approval under the Caymanas SEZ. There are tax incentives to be gained if the government approves, and we believe this will help drive investors to come to the project faster. Kingston 876 dovetails perfectly with the Government’s objectives for the SEZ and it’s in the same location,” Moe told the Business Observer.
Under the new SEZ Act, companies will be required to pay corporate income tax of 12.5 per cent chargeable on the developers or occupants, replacing the zero income tax rate under the current Free Zone regime. Following the tabling on the SEZ green paper last year and consultations thereafter on how the tax rate would affect investors, the Government also settled on the provision of the incentivised tax rate of 7.5 per cent income tax on condition that criteria by the Government are fulfilled, including a minimum investment cost, payment of taxes and employment numbers.
“The Government and the National Works Agency have been very cooperative in working out our needs. Also NEPA has been very responsive. But one of the main advantages of the property is its location, especially with the new North/South link highway,” Moe stated.
The property is being marketed on its strategic location, which is less than 15 minutes away from the port and access to both the North/South and East/West highways. It means that from a distribution and logistics point of view, operators will have a tremendous advantage over many other distribution and consumer goods companies.
“Kingston is in desperate need of industrial-type activity. There is very little area that is available for this type of development now, and it’s perfectly located in Kingston, but yet close to Spanish Town, Portmore, even as far as Old Harbour, Bogue, Linstead coming in on the new highway,” Moe stated.
“So instead of going into Kingston, you can now come to the edge of Kingston and be right in the middle with close proximity to the port,” he continued, adding that the location was acquired about six years ago and has since developed financing partners with the vision and the plan to begin construction.
In addition to the seven entities, Cascade Group will also be constructing a warehouse complex for small to medium-sized companies, in light of heavy demand for close proximity to the port.


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Windows users who are anxious to get their hands on the first beta release of the Longhorn server will have to wait a bit longer than expected.
Earlier this year, Microsoft projected that the initial beta of the server version of Longhorn would emerge in the first half of next year. But now the company is saying that the beta code is due in the second half of 2005.
"We feel good about that date, and we'll drive forward to that beta process," Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Windows Server division, said this month. "We clearly have more clarity on Longhorn beta dates (now)."
In the meantime, Microsoft this month made available "release candidate" versions of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and a companion release of SP1 targeted specifically at systems based on Intel's 64-bit Itanium processors. Commercial shipments of the SP1 releases are officially scheduled to start in the first half of next year, but Muglia said he expects the updates to be ready by March.
Also this month, Microsoft put out the first beta of an interim Windows Server 2003 release, code-named R2, that bundles together various feature packs it has made available for the operating system. A second beta of R2 is due in the first half of 2005, and the commercial release is expected in the second half, according to Muglia.
R2 will replace the initial version of Windows Server 2003, but Muglia said existing Windows Server 2003 users should move to R2 only if they need the new features that it incorporates. "We're not asking people to upgrade," he said.
Muglia said users will still be able to purchase existing products such as the Visual Studio 2005 runtime and SharePoint Services separately from R2. "But in general, our goal moving forward is to incorporate those things into these update releases," he said.
Microsoft also plans to ship R2 editions of Windows Storage Server and Windows Small Business Server in the second half of next year, as well as the Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, Muglia said.


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Last week's announcement that MarchFirst would cut 1,000 employees-10% of its workforce-sent a chill through the Internet professional services industry, already rocked by layoffs. Web developers who once had their pick of clients are now scrambling for them.
"A year or two ago, all these interactive agencies were in the enviable position that they could turn away work," said Marissa Gluck, senior analyst at Jupiter Research, a division of Jupiter Media Metrix. "These guys have to hustle now to bring on new clients, and now, just not dot-com clients. They're also under increased pressure that these clients are sustainable-not on a project basis."
The pressure is especially intense for public companies like Chicago-based MarchFirst, the biggest shop on Advertising Age's Interactive 100. Thomas Metz, MarchFirst's president and chief operating officer, said the cuts will save the company about $100 million a year. MarchFirst had "gotten a little ahead of itself" in the hiring cycle and now is reducing costs to bring the company in line with marketplace trends, Mr. Metz said.
MarchFirst has been hit by cutbacks in Internet consulting and advertising as some of its dot-com clients have folded and others are scaling back digital marketing efforts. Last month, it reported a third-quarter loss of $436.7 million, compared with net income of $9 million a year earlier. The company said it was hurt by slowing demand for consulting services and the weakness of the euro against the dollar. MarchFirst was formed by the March merger of Whittman-Hart and USWeb/CKS; the company's stock has sunk 95% since Whittman-Hart announced last December it would buy USWeb.
TROUBLES ALL OVER
MarchFirst isn't alone. Beyond Interactive, Ann Arbor, Mich.; iXL, Atlanta; Luminant Worldwide Corp., Dallas; and Razorfish, New York, have all had layoffs. Many of the biggest Web consultancies have stock prices under $5.
"I think in general, we're seeing demand outstripping supply," said Richard Wise, North American practice leader for Mercer Management Consulting's e-commerce strategy group, adding that recently he's seen an overall "softness" in terms of proposals and rates.
He thinks i-shops will have to take measures to cut costs, such as outsourcing services like computer programming in offshore countries.
Mr. Wise also said he sees firms consolidating into bigger roll-ups or beginning to specialize in niche markets. "Roll-ups can be tricky to pull off," he said, noting the troubles MarchFirst and Luminant have had. In those cases, he said, companies were trying to "mishmash" too many different services-ranging from Web design to backend integration. Luminant, backed by Young & Rubicam, was created one year ago by the instant roll-up and simultaneous initial public offering of seven companies; the stock's fallen 97% from its peak and traded late last week at $1.50, an all-time low.
Dave Skwarczek, president-CEO of Streams Online Media Development Corp., a privately held Chicago Web developer, said he hasn't found clients to be more demanding lately, although the competition for accounts has intensified. "It's clearly more competitive out there," he said.
He, too, believes this shakeout will force some Web shops to narrow their focus. "The term 'everything' has grown to be so incredibly all-inclusive," he said, that companies can't possibly do a good job handling all tasks from customer relationship management to user interface design and e-commerce. "I think firms will be focusing on what they do best."
BENDING OVER BACKWARD
Jupiter's Ms. Gluck said she hasn't heard of clients being able to suddenly command cheaper rates, but she thinks that the Fortune 100 companies particularly have been able to get bargains for awhile.
I-shops have "bent over backward to please" these clients, because they enabled them to attract other big clients. Now, she said, many of these traditional companies are pulling back from interactive initiatives because they're not as scared about trying to keep up with their dot-com rivals.
As to which i-shops are more subject to this downturn in business, Ms. Gluck believes every shop is at risk.
"It'll be interesting how this affects the pool of employees," she said. "We have 25-year-olds making six-figure salaries. That's not sustainable."
Ms. Gluck added: "All these guys have suffered from high turnover" in clients. "No one is immune. It's a bloodbath."
Copyright November 2000, Crain Communications Inc.


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Leading Japanese hotel operators Hotel Okura Co. and Royal Hotel Ltd. said Friday they have agreed to a business tieup and will set up a joint venture to handle mainly marketing operations.
Their announcement comes at a time when an increasing number of foreign luxury hotel operators have launched new inns in central Tokyo, resulting in fierce competition.
The two firms will set up a new company, Orange Marketing Services Japan Co., to launch joint marketing, promotion, and reservations beginning in July. Okura will have a 55 percent stake in the joint venture, which will be capitalized at ¥95 million, while Royal will finance the remaining 45 percent.
“Building infrastructure as a hotel chain is very important to increase the competitiveness of both of us and to expand our business,” Hotel Okura President Toshihiro Ogita told reporters in Tokyo. The two companies said they are not considering a merger at the moment, but will look to broader cooperation with other domestic firms as well as foreign chains. They will also exchange human resources and jointly purchase necessities to reduce costs.
“Foreign hotel operators increase customer loyalty through their global network of 500 to 1,000 hotels,” Royal Chairman Takayuki Tsukuda said. “We can’t compete with one brand in one region anymore. We have to build a network that can cover at least the domestic market and hopefully the Asian region.”


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Philips Hue will end support for ‘Google’s Works with Nest’ programme as soon as next week, as Google transitions all third-party support to ‘Works with Hey Google’.
The Nest Cam, Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect are among devices that will lose functionality with Philips Hue from November 17.
Philips reminded users of the change on the Philips Hue blog, nudging them to link their Philips Hue account to the Google Home app to retain access to their favourite features.
Read our review of Philips Hue
Google initially revealed that it would be ending support for ‘Works with Nest’ last May. The company announced plans to transition support to its ‘Works with Google Assistant’ platform to bring all third-party home devices, including Hue, under a single platform and simplify the process for developers.
At the time, Philips published advice warning users that they would not be able to connect any new Philips Hue devices with their Nest accounts. They were, however, able to continue using existing integrations.
Philips offered users two options. They could continue to use their Nest Account along with all the deep integrations available on the ‘Works with Nest’ platform, or they could migrate to a Google account and stick to the limited features offered by Google Assistant.
Related: Best smart home devices
While Google Assistant let users do basic actions such as switch the lights on and off, dim them and change colours, it was missing more advanced features at that time. These included the ability to flash when a smoke detector goes off and support for the popular home and away feature, which allow users to automatically trigger routines based on their location.
Thankfully, Google is working on building existing ‘Works with Nest’ features, including home and away routines, into the Google Home app. Make sure to transition your account before November 17 to continue accessing these features.


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Consumer confidence declined in July for the third consecutive month as pessimism about the economy rose, according to survey data Discover Financial Services released Aug. 4.
Discover’s U.S. Spending Monitor index in July fell to 86.5, down 1.9 points from 88.4 in June. Discover set the index at 100 when it introduced it in May 2007.
In a nationwide telephone survey of 8,200 adults Rasmussen Reports conducted throughout July on behalf of Discover, 57.9% of respondents said they believed the economy is in poor shape, up from 50.9% who said so in June.
More than half of respondents, 51.9%, in July said they believed economic conditions were worsening compared with 47.8% who said so in June.
Fewer respondents saw improving conditions, as 23.4% of respondents in July said they thought the economy was getting better, compared with 28% who said so in June.
The rising economic concerns are driving consumers to rein in their spending, as 26.4% of respondents in July said they planned to spend less in the coming month compared with 22.8% who said so in June.
“Economic uncertainty appears to be weighing on consumers’ discretionary spending intentions,” Julie Loeger, Discover senior vice president of brand and product management, said in a statement. “In the spring, more consumers felt the economy was improving, and that correlated with an overall increase in spending intentions. Monitor data now suggest consumers’ economic confidence is declining and with that so are their discretionary spending intentions.”
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback. Click Here.


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The team here at Aphix Software are delighted to have been shortlisted as a finalist at the eCommerce and Payments Awards for 2019.
We’ve been named in the ‘Best B2B eCommerce Award’ category and making the list alone is a great achievement in a tough category. It includes eCommerce solution providers as well as innovative users of eCommerce for their business.
The awards ceremony will take place in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin, on Thursday, September 26th 2019 and is sponsored by Amárach Research and The Irish Times.
The eCommerce & Payment Awards aims to recognise the complexity and centrality of eCommerce in the digital world and to celebrate the massive contribution it makes to local economies and ongoing global trade development.
It’s one of the most highly prized awards in the Irish eCommerce community, recognising and celebrating the leaders in this field of expertise.
Graham O’Rourke Aphix CEO said “It’s an honour to be shortlisted for this award. As a B2B solution provider, we are constantly striving to stay ahead of the digital curve and to anticipate the changes in how people order and ultimately how businesses sell online.
Our product roadmap is continuously evolving to adapt to the behaviour of B2B shoppers in the digital age. We are really looking forward to this event and to meeting others who are as passionate about eCommerce as we are.”
To add to the joy for the team at Aphix, one of our long-standing customers Demense Electrical has been nominated in the Best Electrical eCommerce Award Category and we have our fingers crossed that they can take the award home.
To view the shortlist of nominees Click Here
To find out more about the Aphix Platform Click Here


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Nigerian women have proven their grit in the areas of business and governance. Nigeria is home to some of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world who have overcome very difficult challenges including lack of access to funding, and power outages to scale their businesses. CNBC Africa’s Didi Akinyelure sits down with some of these highly successful business women to discuss their remarkable journeys.
1) Ibukun Awosika, First Woman Chairperson of First Bank.
2) Adenike Ogunlesi, Founder ‘Ruff n Tumble’.
3) Folurunsho Alakija, Third richest black woman in the world.
4) Nike Davies-Okundaye, Founder of Nike Art Gallery.
5) Bukky George, Founder of Health Plus.


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“Despite the image of Bulgaria as an outsourcing destination in technology, the rapid development of the startup ecosystem in recent years and the development of tourism as a strategic industry, only 38% of companies developing technology in tourism in Bulgaria have been founded in the last 5 years,” shared on the air of TV Europe, in the show Business Daily, CEO of Umni, Elitza Stoilova, in a conversation with the anchor Dimitar Vuchev on the occasion of the presentation of the 1st for Bulgaria report on technological solutions in the tourism industry. The report BULGARIA: Tourism Tech Mapping Report 2020 is a joint study of PrEXCELerator Bulgaria and Umni and will be officially presented on 29.09 at the Metropolitan Hotel Sofia.
“One of the reasons for the slower penetration of technology in tourism in Bulgaria is the lack of large consumers to invest in and use local solutions, which would encourage startups to focus their know-how on solving problems in this industry. Lack of up-to-date information about the development of technologies and their practical application, as well as a dose of conservatism in the industry itself are other obstacles to the introduction of new technologies in the industry by startups, “explained Elitza Stoilova in the talk show.
The show was broadcasted in 2 parts.


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What matters more in
international relations? What shapes the contours of bilateral ties in
contemporary times? Certainly trade is an important factor but it is not the
most important factor.
It is always about the
engagement on strategic levels that defines bilateral relations between
countries or the international alliances of groupings of countries, be it
US-Israel or US-UK or NATO and other similar ties and alliances. They have been
rock solid ties weathering varying seasons with equal fervour because the
cornerstone of these relations have been strategic concerns. Historical linkages
are an added advantage.
Though NATO has seen some
trouble recently with US President Donald Trump raising objections over skewed
funding contribution in the world's most formidable military alliance between
countries where the US is the largest contributor, NATO is still sailing smoothly
with regular high level US visits to the NATO headquarters at Brussels.
In contrast, trading blocs
like WTO, NAFTA, ASEAN, APEC, SCO and so on are basically about commercial
engagements and though have increasingly become important in a world globalized
by economy, cannot replace the ties built on strategic interests, especially in
the times of crisis, like prolonged border standoffs or any aggression inimical
to bilateral ties.
Also, when countries are
globally important and are slated to become poles in a multi-polar world of
future, like India and China are, what is going to define their diplomacy and
international politics is how they cultivate their strategic ties.
Because loss of commercial interests
can be met with forging other ties and alliances but there is no replacement
for a strategic tie that gives a country sense of security or tools to secure
its borders and skies.
That is why China doesn't
matter for India in case the ongoing border tension in the Sikkim Sector between
two countries escalate to severe levels resulting in localized, limited scale
military hostilities (because the two nuclear powered nations cannot afford a
China is basically a country
engaged in trade relations with India. Relations have failed to go beyond that.
There are no cultural ties and people to people contact. Defence and other
strategic elements are non-existent from the table. Coupled it with the
non-existent India-China bilateral trade in services. All these factors make
India to easily look beyond China when it comes to suspending ties.
The bilateral trade between
India and China was around $71 Billion in 2016 with a trade deficit highly
skewed in Chinese favour - $47.8 Billion. India basically exports diamonds,
cotton, yarn, organic chemicals, iron ore and copper worth $12 Billion (2016).
Chinese export to India includes fertilizers, antibiotics, electrical
machinery, equipments and organic chemicals and the 2016 worth was $59 Billion.
When we see the items of
import and export, especially in the context of the stagnating Chinese economy,
it is quite clear that India can easily do away with its miniscule Chinese
export. But it will be difficult for China to ignore India, the world's fastest
growing large economy now for many quarters. Add to it India's projected middle
class base of around 450 million people and the country becomes a promising
market for any manufacturing hub like China.
The trade deficit with China
doesn't hurt us (and won't hurt us), at least in the near future, till the
country reaches to a stage where unemployment becomes chronic and threatening
for the country's weaving; till the time we have ramped up our infrastructure to
be able to make for any future contingency on our manufacturing needs. Till
then, it's like we have outsourced our manufacturing needs to countries like
China (and with manufacturing bases in many other countries, we can easily find
But China has not this
advantage. It is already the manufacturing engine of the world with its
majority of population engaged in those small or large factories supplying to
the world. They are as dependent on the domestic Chinese consumption as the international
With a slowing down economy,
the domestic consumption in China is going to ease and its manufacturing hubs
are going to be ever more dependent on big overseas markets and India is a big
imperative there. It is important to maintain China's social fabric with flow
of jobs and gains of economy in the society and is going to be must for its
behemoth economy that needs global markets to lubricate its tentacles. Just a
corollary would suffice to prove the point here. Four Chinese manufactures, Xiaomi,
Lenovo, Oppo and Vivo, are in top five of the Indian smartphone market. India
can easily find alternative smartphone manufacturers with a strong domestic industry
to fill the gaps. But these Chinese manufactures cannot find a market like
India that has emerged as the world's fastest growing smartphone market.


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Boosting mass entrepreneurship and innovation
Mass participation in Internet finance generates mass entrepreneurship and innovation as analyzed by experts attending the meeting.
Lin Yongqing said Internet finance can also be called "mass finance" because it enables individual investors to decide where they want to invest and grants small and medium-sized enterprises with loans that are usually rejected by large banks.
"Internet finance boosts mass entrepreneurship and innovation," said Wang Huiyao, president of Center for China & Globalization (CCG) and counselor of the State Council. He highlighted the effective role of the Internet in garnering capitals, talents, and technologies to create more jobs and new business models.
He also urged China to grasp the opportunities provided by the development of the Internet industry to expand its market shares via the Internet and enhance the innovation capability of its enterprises.
Wang's idea was also echoed by Zhang Xiaochen who believed that Internet finance plays a huge role in creating jobs and encouraging innovation. Zhang said Internet finance mainly helps those startups who cannot get access to funds. As a new business model, it can help both underprivileged people and those startups with brilliant ideas.
Learning experience from other countries
This meeting also invited experts from the United States, Australia, Israel, and some European countries to share their experience in Internet finance and provide suggestions for its healthy development in China.
"The most valuable experience should be investor education," said Jason W. Best, principal of Crowdfund Capital Advisors. He said it is important to help investors become aware of potential risks arising from Internet finance and learn to diversify their overall investment by putting some portions into more stable industries.
Drew Von Glahn put emphasis on data transparency, saying any kind of growth relies on the ability to obtain data, with which investor can make sensible decisions on investment. He also called on startups to execute on their ideas with perseverance instead of just dwelling on big ideas.
Scott McIntyre, executive director of U.S. Crowdfunding Professional Association (CFPA) also gave advice to startups, regarding trust, innovation and communication as crucial elements in gaining investment through Internet finance.
Rules and regulations are also emphasized by experts at the meeting, saying those factors are urgently needed to promote the healthy development of Internet finance and create a sound ecosystem around it.


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The foreign minister submitted a seven-page reply in the court, challenging the formation of three-member bench on Sept 23.
Earlier on Sept 23, a larger bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq had sought a written reply on the matter from the foreign minister after declaring the petition against him maintainable at the last hearing.
The funeral service will be held at The Wenallt Chapel, Thornhill Crematorium on Friday Sept 23 at 11.
Resting at the private funeral home of J Pidgeon & Son, 539 Cowbridge Rd East, Victoria Park, Cardiff, until the service in the Chapel on Friday Sept 23 at 1.
Sadly, also in the Sept 23
issue, there is the article "Leisure halls and pools face closure in 'painful' council cuts".
A calling hour will be Wednesday, Sept 23
from 10:00 to 11:00 a.
MOROCCO (7nts, a/i, 4*) Sept 23, Gatwick, pounds 439, Holiday Click (www.
EGYPT (7nts, b/b, 3*) Sept 23, Manchester, pounds 365, Panorama (www.
GRENADA (7nts, s/c), until Sept 30, Gatwick, pounds 499, Hotfoot (0871 222 5823); FUERTEVENTURA (7nts, a/i), Until Sept 23
, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Stansted and Birmingham, pounds 499, Voyana (0871 271 5207); IBIZA, (7nts, h/b), Sept 22, Gatwick, pounds 439, Sky Travel Shop (0870 050 0229).
com during the fashion show, as well as all day on Sept 23
, will go to benefit HIV/AIDS organizations.
com; ORLANDO (14nts, s/c) Sept 23
, Gatwick, pounds 399, Future Travel (01592 722 880).
National Champion football coach Howard Schnellenberger will be roasted next Saturday, Sept 23
at Florida Atlantic University.


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"Do you think the Indian banking system has matured enough to take on the onslaught from payment banks? Does the RBI see this as a first step towards some of the payments banks evolving into universal banks?" is what SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya asked the RBI governor the day after payments banks licences were given out.
On what is in store, governor Rajan had this to say, "The (RBI) board took the view that it was hard to forecast what would happen in the payment space." He added, "Given the fact that we did not know what could succeed, the board chose to license a variety of players - some tech companies, finance companies, some bank-mobile combines. Now, let’s see how the game develops."
While Bhattacharya’s question reflects the potential threat from these nimbler financial companies, Governor Rajan’s view shows that many of them may not survive - as with the first round of bank licences in the 1990s where many players failed and were merged with their bigger counterparts.
The differentiated banks hold out hope for millions who have remained isolated from financial services for years, and open up business opportunities.
"We believe e-payments will help to soften lending rates and support growth over time," say Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts led by Sachin Salgaonkar. "The spread of rural banking after the bank nationalisation of 1969 helped to shift rural India to cash-based transactions from barter. This led to a fall in the currency held by the public and a corresponding rise in bank deposits. E-payments will cut shoe leather costs of going to the bank, reduce cash holding, push up deposit growth and help pull down lending rates."
India’s payments market is at Rs 15.5 lakh crore in fiscal 2015 and is likely to grow 12 per cent annually. The share of mobiles — at less than 0.1% - may rise to 10% in seven years; with the value of mobile banking rising 200 times to $3.5 trillion, says Merrill.
The fact that branch banking is on the decline and Internet penetration is gaining, should sound sweet to the ears of the bank licence winners. Branch-based transactions have gone down by 7% and the number of transactions per ATM are slowing down, says BCG, a consultant.
Furthermore, the expansion of Internet services could make digital banking soar. Digital banking customers may reach 230 million by 2020; they could touch 300 million with payments banks in operation, it says. It is this potential to make big bucks that has left some of the more than 50 applicants who did not make the cut, sulking. Although RBI depended on external committees to choose, some say the process has been inconsistent.
"The list of names who were given payments bank licences indicate the RBI was looking at mostly people with deep pockets who could invest loads of cash and undertake heavy investment," says Ketan Doshi, MD, Pay Point India Network.
"Corporates who were not even in the payments space have been given licences which indicate that deep pockets were the more important criterion for RBI."
The RBI has made financial inclusion the cornerstone of its new bank licensing policy. It had provided a full-fledged bank licence to micro finance company Bandhan, while it ignored SKS Microfinance for even a small bank licence.
In fact, its licensing of the Reliance Industries and State Bank of India joint venture, and Sun Pharmaceuticals founder Dilip Shanghvi, has surprised many as the first doesn’t need a special licence while the second does not have any banking experience.
"We are disappointed because out of 10, eight are MFIs," said PH Ravikumar, non-executive chairman of SKS Microfinance - one of the only listed MFIs. Similar was the disappointment at many companies which have been growing in technology, but do not have big backers like Alibaba.
"If you look at the list you can see that they have given licences to two people - the first are the financially super strong and the second, somebody who has a place of default in the banking ecosystem," says B Amrish Rau, MD, Citrus Payment Solutions. "There is a Dilip Sanghvi, who has nothing to do with payments but has deep pockets and there is a Vijay Shekhar, who has become a possible point of default in the banking ecosystem and has Rs 110 crore of public money. RBI did not give payment bank licences on the basis of technology, it has got nothing to do with technology."
The RBI has said though, that it intends to move to an ‘on tap’ licensing regime, opening up the possibility for those who missed the bus this time to hop on whenever the regulator resumes. And for some, continuation as a non-banking finance company, or just a wallet services provider, may even be a blessing in disguise.
"Now that we have not got the licence we can roll out our financial services products in the way we want to," says Doshi of Pay Point. "We could not have entered the credit business if we would have become a payments bank. But now we can give credit, loans and investment products by tying up with few banks and NBFCs. "We do get much more freedom to operate now that we do not have to follow the strict guidelines of payments banks."
Part of the race to be among the payments bank or a small bank system is the potential market valuation that some of these companies receive.
Internationally, Alibaba, a company with dominant market share in the Chinese payments system, created a record with a $25-billion IPO this year. Although its stock has slid since peaking at $120 a share, Indian startups such as Paytm, one of the companies with a payments bank licence, is valued at $2.3 billion.
"We do not expect to see an Alipay equivalent behemoth wallet company in India as RBI rules would not allow an arbitrage opportunity for mobile wallets to gain at the expense of banks," Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Rajeev Varma says in a report. "On the contrary, we think that restrictor KYC norms may limit the money stored in a wallet by consumers."
With a huge war chest and private equity investors chasing the next Alibaba, companies are on the move.
"There are Alibaba teams working with us to get the correct piece of technology, correct piece of product in place," says Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, backed by Alibaba. "Alibaba is the energy that is infused within us, the energy that is allowing us to continue to dominate the marketplace. It is not just money, the capability of the system. Paytm is being powered in the marketplace, every nook and corner by Alibaba."
For the moment, it is the enterprise that’s powering businesses, and investors are queueing up for a share of the pie. The human instinct of greed and fear are at play and as governor Rajan admitted, it is anybody’s guess on what would be left in this battlefield once the dust settles.


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Travel the world. Hit the golf course. Start or buy another company. These are a few typical paths when founders cash out by selling their franchise to investors. Instead, Jim and Lynn Minidis are pouring their resources into their three-year-old foundation aimed at feeding hungry Americans.
Their franchise is RedBrick Pizza, started in 1998 in California with pizzas cooked in under three minutes, long before the current fast-baked artisan pizza craze. "We’ve always been very health-conscious, into exercise, and we understood what exercise and a healthy diet meant to your overall well-being. We formulated our products to be healthier than the competition," Jim Minidis says.
They started franchising in 2001, zoomed up to 70 locations by 2006 or so and then ran into trouble. BRIX Holdings, the Dallas-based franchise holding company, bought RedBrick last year and plans to re-launch the brand.
Sixteen restaurants are open now with plans for 15 to 25 per year beginning in 2016. BRIX is testing two prototypes, called Modern Milan and Classic Italian, and Minidis spends part of his time consulting with the new owners.
But their all-consuming passion is the foundation and its website, called One Family One Restaurant or 1F1R.com. Here’s how it works: Restaurants go to the website and post meals that can be sponsored by the community; restaurants also donate meals themselves "out of their generosity," Minidis says.
Visitors to the site can bring up a restaurant and donate any number of meals. Then an encrypted reservation number goes to participating food banks, which issue meal reservations "to food-insecure people they’re already working with and that they’ve already approved," he says.
‘There’s just a connection’
"Then the hungry family comes in and dines in the restaurant," Minidis says, and it’s a sight to see. "I cannot begin to tell you what happens, the experience in that restaurant when you see not only the hungry family dine, but also the waiters, the waitresses, the manager and the owner experiencing this. There’s just a connection that takes place that is beyond description."
They’ve launched the site in Ventura, California, with nine restaurants and counting participating and more than 400 donated meals served. The next step is to begin a national tour to introduce the program, with a goal to sign up restaurants and food shelves and other participants across the country.
Minidis calls hunger in America a "hidden secret," and illustrates the need for education by relating this tale, when he was in Newport Beach talking with a group of executives. He said, "How many people do you think go to the food bank every month (in the area)?" They said, "Maybe 800 or 1,200." He said, "No, try 300,000 people. And how many get turned away because they run out of food?" They said, "No, that can’t be. This is Newport Beach, Orange County. And I said almost 100,000 people."
Jim, Lynn and their two sons started this undertaking about three years ago. Why? "Mother Teresa said it best: The problem in this world is we see our family circle as too small," Minidis says. "When you realize we’re all basically family, you realize that what you do with an open heart comes back to you with great abundance."
It’s an abundance he wishes for his franchise, yes, as RedBrick’s new owners re-launch the brand. But more so, he is working for heaping plates across America.


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Socitm, the association for IT and digital professionals, has published a free guide to digital services, aimed at senior public sector management teams. The guidebook, ‘Do you do digital?’ outlines the scope, reach and progress of digital adoption in public services, and showcases both best practices and areas that require improvement or a faster pace of change, based on recent Socitm research.
It also shows how citizen engagement can be boosted by offering self-service portals and accounts, email alerts, and use of social media, and highlights the opportunity that online services present to redesign services for lower cost delivery while meeting citizens’ demand for more flexible, accessible services. It’s available free from the Socitm website.
This week, Karey Barnshaw, customer engagement manager for North Kesteven Borough Council is a guest blogger on Public Sector Executive, showing how the council’s automated, online green waste collection service has green-lit channel shift at the council. The service has been the proof-of-concept, triggering the moving of further services online to make it easier for residents to interact with the council.
Socitm recently released its latest Better Connected survey, which this year focused on mobile access to council websites. The results showed that a third of all visits to council websites come from mobile devices (an increase compared with a year ago), but also found that tasks and services tested via mobiles were only rated as half as good compared with the same service accessed from a PC.
Socitm suggested that the data shows councils are finding it difficult to raise the quality of user experience on mobiles to match that on conventional PCs - a gap that needs to be closed in order to drive pervasive channel shift, as mobile access is a growing preference.
The survey also rated local authorities’ levels of digital engagement. 32% of councils offer online customer accounts, 36% offer e-mail alerts, and social media is evidenced on 88% of home pages.
However, there’s a still a gap in directing citizens to online self-service resources: 25% of councils with an answerphone message for out-of-hours calls are still failing to refer callers to the website.
Bolsover District Council and North East Derbyshire District Council are using a shared deployment of Firmstep’s Platform as a cloud-based local government alternative to their previous Northgate CRM system.
This is enabling the councils to boost efficiency in their customer contact centres, and move a range of popular council services online, enabling residents to self-serve securely.
This will support both Councils’ drive for channel shift across their most frequently-used services, and ensure consistent handling of enquiries across all channels, helping to reduce administration costs. The joint deployment is part of a Strategic Alliance in which the two neighbouring authorities of Bolsover and North East Derbyshire work together, sharing assets and aligning processes to deliver ongoing savings and efficiencies.
The full news item is here.
We’ve posted before about how people like to engage with councils via their website, and about the frustrations caused by using those sites. But until now, it’s been hard for organisations to directly judge how usable their website is — and costly too.
However, that’s now changed. LocalGov Digital, a network for digital practitioners in local government, has built a platform that crowdsources views on site usability. Anyone can test a council’s site service, and users can search for their local council to see what other people have said about it too.
It’s an excellent idea, which will ultimately allow councils to see how their sites and services compare with others. The platform is here.
One of the early findings released by Socitm from its upcoming Better Connected 2014 review of council web services, is that users of council websites are twice as satisfied by their experience when using desktop PCs compared to when they use a mobile device.
Socitm’s data showed that the use of mobile devices to access council websites is increasing rapidly, with up to 36% of visits in December 2013 being made from mobiles, compared with 23% back in Spring 2013 – meaning a 50% increase in mobile access in just over 6 months.
We’ve blogged before about how important a smooth mobile experience is for users accessing online services. When North Kesteven District Council introduced an online application and payment process for subscriptions to its new opt-in Garden Waste Collection Service, using Firmstep’s AchieveForms, over a quarter of those who signed up online did so from a mobile device (the full story is here).
At the rate of growth of mobile access, it may soon become the main method for accessing services – so closing the satisfaction gap will become even more critical, if channel shift programmes are to succeed.
In a new article on LocalGov, Karey Barnshaw, manager of customer engagement for North Kesteven Borough Council describes the success of its automated, online green waste collection service, which uses Firmstep software to drive applications. She also describes how the Council plans to build on this success by moving further services online, and by migrating away from a traditional CRM to Firmstep’s cloud solution for local government, helping the council transform the way it engages with citizens.
Read the full article here.
Here’s a final reminder that this Friday, January 24th, we’re hosting Firmstep’s Delivering Channel Shift Success event in Edinburgh, focusing on deliverables from Scotland’s Digital Future Strategy and showcasing how a third of UK Local Authorities are achieving success with their Channel Shift programmes using Firmstep solutions.
The event will cover the key factors behind successful channel shift, including community engagement and migrating from legacy CRM systems to single platforms. It will also feature a keynote from Ian Parker, Director of Business Tranformation at South Ribble Borough Council, in which Ian will explain how his council has applied the Firmstep Customer Experience Platform to all aspects of the council, the impact this has had on services, and how it is helping them to achieve bankable savings of at least £500,000.
Full details and registration are here: http://t.co/qgDMVRILFm
There’s still a lot of discussion about the types of device that citizens will use to access council services. Will they use PCs, smartphones or tablets? Or all three? A recent report suggested that smartphone users are less than half as likely to engage with local government websites as PC or laptop users.
However, other reports have highlighted relatively high levels of smartphone and mobile access: in Spring 2013, Socitm’s Better Connected briefing showed that 23% of visits to council websites were made on mobile devices. And some Firmstep customers have reported higher than anticipated take-up of services from mobiles.
When North Kesteven Council introduced an online application and payment process for subscriptions to its new opt-in Garden Waste Collection Service, using AchieveForms, 52% of subscribers signed up online, and 23% of those did so from a mobile device (the full story is here). This shows the importance to councils of having self-service channels that work on mobiles as well as conventional PCs. Perhaps the discussion should be less focused on mobiles, and more centred around easy online access.
It’s the time of year when we start to make plans to be implemented during the year ahead. For many council IT teams, some of those resolutions would include saving costs and boosting service efficiency in their processes. One of the keys to achieving this is better integration of front-end and back-end systems.
As our integration partner NDL found in a survey back in October of this year, almost 90% of senior IT staff recognised that a lack of integration is a barrier to delivering services online. 70% of councils said that re-keying data gathered by their CRM systems, and over half of councils re-key significant amounts of data captured by online forms. This duplication of effort on what should be largely automated transactions is a drain on resources and a barrier to service.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way, as councils such as Burnley BC have found from deploying Firmstep solutions. In many cases, organisations can boost efficiency through better integration of systems, and realise further savings in licensing and support costs by decommissioning legacy CRM products – as well as enhancing service provision.
With these readily-achievable benefits, perhaps better systems integration could be one of the easier new year resolutions to keep. From everyone at Firmstep, have a good Christmas break and best wishes for 2014.


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While a search of “retail apocalypse” might generate 8.9 million results on google, it is a myth, according to LeBlanc. Target has had the best sales results in ten years. In 2018 retail is expected to chart 4.5% growth here in the U.S. and 2% in Canada.
And there have been more store openings than closings, with over 3,000 new store openings in 2018. In fact, according to LeBlanc, the media focuses on Sears and a few others that have been losing ground (16 retailers account for more than 66% of the closings).
What is happening is retail is being transformed to deliver more of an entertainment experience, with adult gaming, high-end restaurants and spas. Click and collect models drive consumers to the brick and mortar store to pick up their e-commerce orders.
There are challenges, for sure. Traffic counts continue to decline as consumers shift their buying behavior to omnichannel. It is hard to drive incremental visitors to the store, but retailers like Wal-Mart have been driving more traffic with the addition of groceries, for instance.
Increased labor costs and a shortage of workers is another challenge. LeBlanc cited one new store opening where 50% of the employees who were hired failed to show on opening day, in effect “ghosting” the employer.
As with most discussions of a changing retail landscape, Amazon looms large. LeBlanc said there are more Prime members in the U.S. than those who attend church! Amazon will be the number one apparel retailer in the U.S. by next year. Amazon now boasts nine warehouses in Canada and 75 in the U.S. but struggles with 22% of top line sales going to figuring out the last mile. There is not enough capacity to get all the products ordered where they need to go. Damage and theft remain issues.
Retail must change, catering to an older population with less focus on stuff and more on entertainment and experience. This is balanced by younger shoppers seeking out entirely different retail experiences like the new Apple store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue with a “town hall” atmosphere.
Retail was massively overbuilt, according to LeBlanc and is struggling with a shrinking middle class. In fact, 40 percent of new store openings are dollar stores.
But technology is helping to bridge the gap with the addition of in-store pick up kiosks that eliminate waiting in line, for instance. Self-checkout is another technological development, but theft and fraud increase 30% with self-checkout and does not replace personal service.
Technology has to offer more than just transactions, it has to focus on delivering a cultural experience. Initiatives from high-end interactive sales tools all the way to discount consignment and vintage clothing and furniture stores are all helping target key demographics to keep retail alive.
While growth of on-line sales may be unstoppable, retail is not going quietly into the night.


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EU Packaging and Packaging Waste draft regulations accused of falling short of uniform policymaking regarding eCommerce
By Elena Rotzokou, Global EPR Researcher
Anticipation, excitement, and even confusion came upon the packaging world when the most recent draft proposal on EU rules on Packaging and Packaging Waste was leaked online this past April. Although the proposal is multi-faceted and thorough, encouraging legislative action across vital areas like reuse, recycling, consumption reduction, sorting and waste collection, labelling, and modulated fees, eCommerce remains a grey area.
The draft proposal urges collective, more or less uniform action on the part of EU Member States regarding bans, deposit return schemes, labelling, and reduction targets. Although the proposal makes particular suggestions concerning eCommerce and digital marketing, it does not refer to the need for unified policymaking in this area, nor does it explicitly incorporate eCommerce into general EPR rules. This is particularly surprising as the operation of electronic marketplaces is becoming an increasingly popular activity among businesses that recognise its profitability.
The draft proposal does not altogether omit packaging’s role in electronic marketing. Extending EU 2022/2065’s authorising of distance marketing contracts, the proposal urges that providers of online marketing platforms be bound by environmental obligations incumbent on producers. In particular, providers of online platforms must comply with EPR obligations laid down by EU 2022/2065, unless they prove that producers distributing packaging to consumers in the European Union have been complying with these obligations.
Producers must prove their compliance to online platform providers. These rules are meant to enable the traceability of digital packaging activity as envisaged by EU 2022/2065, in addition to being consistent with the EU’s resolution of 10 February 2021 on the New Circular Economy Action Plan (2020/2077), which encourages all digital sellers to adhere to EPR essential requirements and reporting obligations to contribute financially to EPR schemes in the EU.
Notwithstanding the proposal’s acknowledgement of online platforms’ involvement in packaging marketing activities, a few businesses have claimed that the draft law falls short of gesturing at remotely concrete, let alone uniform, regulations regarding eCommerce. No other than electronic marketplace giant eBay has responded to the leaked draft, suggesting that the amendment poses an outstanding opportunity for the European Commission to simplify and harmonise EPR regulations by taking account of all involved players, including small and big digital sellers.
READ MORE: EPR 2023 and beyond. Major legislative updates swept across the packaging world right at the advent of 2023, and with the middle of the year not far off, governments, businesses, schemes, and consultancies have their eyes set on the years to follow.
eBay encouraged the European seller community to participate in the European Commission’s consultation on its draft proposal, which was open to feedback from the public until 24 April 2023. Notably, eBay’s response was among a barrage of criticism from the packaging and recycling industries directed at the draft proposal’s purportedly unrealistic recycling targets and undermining existing recycling schemes.
The European Commission’s lack of harmonised legislative action vis-à-vis eCommerce thus far has led several Member States to launch laws independently to ensure online sellers contribute to their domestic EPR systems.
A recent update to Germany’s 2019 Packaging Act (VerpackG) has required, since 1 July 2022, electronic marketplaces selling to end-users in Germany but not operating a physical facility in the country to register with the Central Agency Packaging Register and have their producer number, alongside regular producers.
An addition to Austria’s 2014 Packaging Ordinance enforced on 1 January 2023 mandates that distance sellers and mail order companies selling to Austrian-based customers appoint an authorised representative in the country to handle their obligations on their behalf. Meanwhile, per the 2021 Circular Economy Law, businesses selling products consumed by households to end-consumers in France are obligated under the same financial and registration requirements as sellers with a physical presence in the country.
The reformed EPR in the UK also introduces new obligations to online marketplaces; in particular, online marketplaces will be required to report detailed information on the type of packaging they place on the market alongside regular producers, importers, and fillers.
More and more existing EPR schemes across Europe are revising regulations to involve distance sellers. For instance, an amendment to Denmark’s Environmental Protection Act that is expected to be enforced by the end of 2024 makes EPR-related provisions not only for distributors of packaged products but also for those marketing electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, and even cars and vans to end-consumers in Denmark.
The sheer number of recent and forthcoming legislation around eCommerce in the present decade makes it seem as if the marriage between online marketing and environmental compliance is a novel affair. But this is far from so: ever since its enforcement in January 2015, the Netherlands’ Packaging Management Decree has made foreign entrepreneurs selling to end-users in the Netherlands obligated under the same EPR regulations as regular producers and importers.
Digitisation initiatives have been around for a while, and environmental legislation has not remained blind to them. In light of eBay’s criticism, it is all the more startling that the EU’s draft rules on Packaging and Packaging Waste do not propose clear and uniform steps towards regulating the packaging waste resulting from online marketing activities.
READ MORE: Walking wisely. When it comes to tackling the 92 million tonnes of packaging waste in Europe every year, we have very far to go indeed. As a result, making this journey will require truly continuous collaboration and learning.
The rapid rate at which the EU’s draft regulations on Packaging and Packaging Waste are evolving can be frustrating for businesses that seek to make sense of how they might be affected by a potential law as multi-faceted as this one. Considering the lack of uniform policymaking, companies operating digital marketing services might likewise be unsure how their distribution practices may be impacted. Moreover, EPR rules regarding eCommerce vary from one European nation to another, making it difficult for businesses selling to multiple countries to stay abreast of all their obligations.
Ecoveritas has and will continue keeping track of and interpreting the EU’s draft regulations and any law involving EPR. Our exclusive Global EPR Matrix offers a unique insight into environmental packaging laws that should educate you about your business’s obligations.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about our services. Please speak to one of our advisors today on +44(0)1865502176 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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HALO Branded Solutions Acquired By TPG Growth
TPG Growth has partnered with HALO Branded Solutions' (PPAI 106462) management to acquire the Sterling, Illinois, distributor. TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity platform of global alternative investment firm TPG, acquired the company from Audax Private Equity. Audax purchased HALO in 2016. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal, which is expected to close over the next 30-45 days, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
“At HALO, we strive to provide our clients with innovative, customized solutions that showcase their brand and values,” says Marc Simon, CEO of HALO. “TPG Growth is a hands-on partner that understands our business and supports our vision. We look forward to leveraging their business-building and growth expertise as we continue to expand and enhance operations.”
Shamik Patel of TPG Growth says, “In HALO, we saw the opportunity to acquire an industry-leading platform that’s supported by best-in-class leadership and sales teams.HALO is well positioned to capitalize on its leading position in a fragmented market, and we are excited to partner with Marc and the rest of the HALO team to accelerate the company’s growth, both organically and through acquisitions.”
The company operates across two business lines: HALO Branded Solutions and HALO Recognition, which designs and administers employee incentive and rewards programs for enterprise customers. HALO has a nationwide salesforce of more than 1,200 account executives who are supported by a team of more than 500 corporate service professionals.


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Northern Star Investment III and IV in 8-K filings said they have adjourned shareholder meetings until March 1 to consider an extension vote.
Each SPAC faces a March 4 deadline, while both seek extensions until September.
The spacs said if the extension proposals are approved, shareholders would not see any reduction in their redemption price for future extensions or business combinations that could be subject to the 1% excise tax.
Each SPAC raised $350 million in a March 2021 ipo to target businesses primarily in the direct-to-consumer and digitally-disruptive e-commerce spaces. Read more.
Source: Northern Star Investment III and IV Postpone Extension Votes


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The venerable Gray Lady knows a hungry market when she sees one. The New York Times will now accept paid wedding announcements in its print edition. My biggest question upon reading this article? If reading the exisiting announcements in the "Weddings/Celebrations" section is such a popular Sunday morning bloodsport, how will readers respond to people who pay $48 per line to be included? I'm also wondering about the thought process that would lead someone to decide to pay for an announcement rather than leave it up to the editorial gods at Sunday Styles.
(Via R. Thanks.)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times is recruiting new advertising dollars from a happy, and lucrative, source: Couples seeking the distinction of a wedding announcement in the newspaper's coveted style section.
The New York Times Co. on Friday said it would publish paid announcements of engagements, weddings, anniversaries and partnerships on dedicated advertising pages within its weekly Sunday Styles section.
The venture opens up a new avenue for spouses to declare their matrimony to society, with photographs, at $48 per printed line.
Sunday Styles features for free the wedding announcements of a select few couples from an array of weekly submissions. A longer "Vows" column details ceremonies, and romantic histories, deemed particularly noteworthy.
"We are pleased to offer a guarantee that your big day will be mentioned in The New York Times," said Jyll Holzman, senior vice president of advertising, in a statement. The company did not say what impact the new advertising may have on revenue.
The News York Times already accepts paid placements for death notices, in addition to newsworthy obituaries reported by the paper. Last year, the newspaper began to offer paid wedding announcements on an Internet site (http://www.nytimes.com/weddingsdirectory) at $20 per placement.
But let no one confuse the advertised announcements with those chosen by editorial staff. A banner atop the Web site for paid listings reads: "The New York Times is not involved in the selection or production of these announcements."Posted by Doug at January 24, 2005 10:03 PM


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STILL POND Life isn't the same at the historic center of this Eastern Shore community since the loss of the chief social media: the post office and convenience store, both housed in a late 19th-century building badly damaged by fire last fall. It was the sort of place where you could usually figure on bumping into a neighbor, and sometimes also his pet chicken.
"If we didn't have e-mail, if we didn't have the phones, we'd have the post office" and the combination deli counter, coffee shop, gas station and chat lounge that was the Market at Still Pond, said Kate O'Donnell, who lives near the five-corner crossroads about 10 miles north of Chestertown.
"It was like a community center," said Patricia W. Deitz, who, like many of the neighbors, moved to Still Pond from elsewhere in the last 20 years. She remembered how her daughter and other local young people would mark school dances and other dressy events by having their pictures taken in front of the store.
Neighbors in this enclave of artists, craftspeople, professionals, entrepreneurs and farmers have been on edge lately, trying to pool their ideas and perhaps their money to revive what they consider the heart of a village of some 75 homes and businesses that became a National Historic District in 2009. They say they feel compelled to do something soon, as the owners who are trying to sell the place were just granted permission to demolish the building, and will be free to do so after a review period ordered by Kent County ends on March 21.
The white, two-story wood-frame building has not been condemned, but it's in tough shape, with the two front windows masked in plywood, the back end charred, and some siding peeling off. The whole building is ringed with yellow tape marked "FIRE LINE DO NOT CROSS." The blaze started during morning business hours on Sept. 28 in the electrical system in the back, leaving the structure intact but the inside charred and damaged by smoke and water.
The building is "an eyesore in the heart of the quaint village," Conrad J. Langenfelder, a Kennedyville resident who owns property nearby, wrote in a letter to the county supporting the demolition permit application.
"We can't afford to fix it," said Edward A. Price, an Eastern Shore grain farmer who bought the store with Nancy Ziolkowski in October 2009 for $265,000; they're now listing the property at $150,000. "I would love for someone to come along to buy it and then restore it."
Ziolkowski agreed, saying she decided to apply for the demolition permit last month "to keep our options open." She said she's in no rush to see the building razed.
The neighbors are not keen on some new convenience store going up on the spot where the building has stood since George Washington Covington started running a general store there around 1870. A store record book that one of the neighbors bought in a yard sale shows Covington noting sales for a wide array of items, including prescription medicines marked in ink with "Rx."
On Sept. 9, 1871, the notes show, one customer bought a half-pound of saltpeter for a quarter, the same quantity of mustard seed for a dime, and a pair of shoes for $2. Another bought some muslin and calico fabric, a pair of shoes, shoestrings and some pencils. Covington also noted sales of linseed and cod liver oils.
County records show the place has changed hands eight times since Covington's day, most recently sold to Price and Ziolkowski by Larry and Gerry Penn, who ran the place for years and are remembered for their signature warmth, humor and informality.
Walter Bowie, who lives right down the street from the market, recalled that his family's pet hen, Shadow, would often wander the neighborhood and strut into the store, where she found the handouts of potato chips and Doritos an inviting relief from the usual chicken feed.
"It really was an old-time store," said Bowie. "It was worn out in that old Eastern Shore kind of way because things weren't fixed up. But it was welcoming at the same time."
The smell of frying bacon and brewing coffee filled the store in the morning, as Ziolkowski opened at 5 a.m. for the mechanics and farm workers who made up much of the regular early crew. She had the place open seven days a week, carrying on the Penns' practice of making overstuffed sandwiches and subs, and kept the cluster of mismatched chairs for customers to sit and talk. She remembered five chairs, neighbors said three.
"I miss the store," said Ziolkowski, who is now working at a family farm near Still Pond. She said she missed the people and the sandwiches.
"People would come from all over for the subs and I miss making them, hearing they liked them and they were happy," she said.
A partition separated the store from the Still Pond Post Office, which had a separate entrance. Postmaster Joyce Manley presided for many years as a "kind of a mother confessor, or a bartender," O'Donnell said.
Residents now have to pick up their mail about five miles away in Worton, and the nearest convenience store is three miles away, Bowie said.
Gerald McKiernan, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said no decision has been made about reopening a post office in Still Pond.
Still Pond resident Mary Fielding said a man to whom she rents a house has had difficulty getting work as a handyman and day laborer since the fire. The market was always the place he would go to find out who needed a hand, or where people would find him or leave a message for him when they needed help, she said.
Resident Jim Herron said in an e-mail that, "I got to thinking of all the people I haven't seen since the fire. There were always those people who your only contact was when you saw them at the store."
Bowie said about 15 neighbors are trying to find a way to save the store. They're working with a lawyer to incorporate as a nonprofit organization that could buy the building, and are offering free labor to any prospective buyer.
"There's been so many people in the community that do not want to see the store go because of the historical" value, Ziolkowski said. Kent County has a program that allows owners of historically significant property to apply to have their buildings protected from demolition as landmarks, but Ziolkowski said she wouldn't want to do that, "not with me having the place for sale."
There's been no formal estimate of what it would cost to repair the damage and bring the market up to code, but Price said a friend of his who knows something about building renovations said it would be "major, major, major money."
No one's come up with money so far, although the real estate agent handling the sale, Dave Leager, said he's had five or six inquiries since the place was listed on Feb. 2 — one from a fellow who wanted to tear the building down and start over. Leager figures that would be much less costly than renovating it.
As the building is in a National Historic District, the new owner would probably be eligible for 20 percent federal income tax credits on the renovation cost, and could also compete for an additional 20 to 25 percent state income tax credit, said Collin Ingraham, of the Maryland Historical Trust. That agency administers federal historical preservation programs run by the National Park Service.
"All of us have found a wonderful home and environment here," said Deitz, who moved to Still Pond from the Washington suburbs. "Someone could take that store and make a wonderful life out of it."


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The FTC's eight-count complaint against Facebook claims that Facebook made were unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.
"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."
The FTC complaint lists a number of instances in which Facebook allegedly made promises that it did not keep:
For example, in December 2009, Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private - such as their Friends List - was made public. They didn't warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance.
Facebook also represented that third-party apps that users' installed would have access only to user information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data ? data the apps didn't need.
Facebook also told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences ? for example with "Friends Only." In fact, selecting "Friends Only" did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.
Last but not least, Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.
The proposed settlement bars Facebook from making any further deceptive privacy claims, requires that the company get consumers' approval before it changes the way it shares their data, and requires that it obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years.
Specifically, under the proposed settlement, Facebook is barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers' personal information; required to obtain consumers' affirmative express consent before enacting changes that override their privacy preferences; required to prevent anyone from accessing a user's material more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account; required to establish and maintain a comprehensive privacy program designed to address privacy risks associated with the development and management of new and existing products and services, and to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consumers' information; andrequired, within 180 days, and every two years after that for the next 20 years, to obtain independent, third-party audits certifying that it has a privacy program in place that meets or exceeds the requirements of the FTC order, and to ensure that the privacy of consumers' information is protected.
The proposed order also contains standard record-keeping provisions to allow the FTC to monitor compliance with its order.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, said in a blog entry on Tuesday that he is "committed to making Facebook the leader in transparency and control around privacy."
He said the company is creating two new corporate privacy officers.